Panchayat member caught on camera beating up school student

A video purportedly showing a village panchayat member thrashing a primary school student at a village in Kutch district of Gujarat has gone viral on social media, prompting the authorities to initiate an inquiry into the incident.

The man, a member of Raydhanpar village panchayat in Bhuj taluka, also happens to be a member of the panchayat's school management committee. He was caught in a CCTV camera beating up a class VII student yesterday.

After the video went viral, the Kutch district education authorities initiated an inquiry and said action will be taken against the man, identified as Mada Baradiya, by the district development officer (DDO).

In the video, Baradiya is seen dragging a student and slapping and kicking him several times.

The video shows another student trying to intervene, although it fails to prevent him from beating up the boy with a stick. After a while, he drags the boy inside a classroom and beats him up there, before leaving the room. Meanwhile, teachers are seen standing as mute spectators.

"We received the video this morning, and we have initiated an inquiry. Since the man is a member of the gram panchayat, we will send the report to the district development officer for further action against him," district primary education officer Sanjay Parmar said.

"The incident took place during the recess yesterday, and the man is identified as the school management committee member and a gram panchayat member. We have launched an inquiry and the report will be sent to the DDO today," he said.

Baradiya apparently lost his cool after the boy used some abusive word, Parmar said.

He said parents of the boy came to complain about the incident and sought strong action against Baradiya.

They also demanded that the man should be barred from entering the school premises henceforth, he said.

"We have promised that strong action will be taken against him. The DDO will also appeal to the education department in this regard," Parmar said.